Introduction
Originally the site had a hall surrounded by a moat. The present building dates from the early-17th-century but has been much changed. The estate was purchased by Manchester Corporation in 1893 and developed as a public park.
In 1848 this small, irregular shaped park lay between North Road, on the north and Aston New Road on the south and was surrounded by fields.
Much of the site was taken up with the house and moat. Little detail is known about the planting except for a boundary belt of trees around the site and around the moat in the mid-19th-century and the possibility of a productive garden to the south. These had gone by the late-19th-century.
The area is now one of Manchester City Council's public parks.
- Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts
Access contact details
This is a municipal park for general public use. Please see: http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1796
Owners
Manchester City Council
Town Hall, Albert Square, Manchester, M60 2LA
- History
The present, early-17th-century house was built on the site of an earlier hall in the middle of a moat. The building has been much extended since then. During the 17th century the hall and surrounding garden were owned by Humphrey Chetham, the founder of Chethams's Hospital.
By 1848 there was planting around the house and a boundary belt of trees around the moat. It is possible that there was also a productive garden to the south-east corner of the site. The boundary belt of trees and the garden had been removed by 1895.
The park was purchased by Manchester Corporation in 1893.
- Features & Designations
Features
- Belt
- Moat
- Kitchen Garden
- Key Information
Type
Designed Urban Space
Purpose
Recreational/sport
Principal Building
Parks, Gardens And Urban Spaces
Survival
Extant
Hectares
3
Open to the public
Yes
Electoral Ward
Droylsden West
- References
References
- University of Manchester and University of York {A Survey of Historic Parks and Gardens in Greater Manchester} (1994) A Survey of Historic Parks and Gardens in Greater Manchester